By Andrew Miga, | March 31, 2007
Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON --Rep. John Tierney stepped squarely into the national spotlight when he chaired the first congressional hearings probing the scandal at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

"My question is: where have you been?" Tierney, D-Mass., scolded a panel of top-level Army officials in a sound bite widely repeated in news coverage a few weeks ago.

The dramatic testimony about shoddy outpatient care at the Army's flagship veterans hospital sparked public outrage and paved the way for more action by Congress.

For the last decade on Capitol Hill, Tierney has worked in the long shadow cast by Massachusetts delegation colleagues such as Sen. Edward Kennedy, Sen. John Kerry, Rep. Martin Meehan and Rep. Edward Markey.

"He's an archetypical left-liberal Democrat with no particular individual profile," said Marc Landy, a Boston College political science professor. "I hope he doesn't take that amiss."

But with Democrats taking control of Congress this year and with so much House experience under his belt, Tierney, 55, has begun to make his mark.

"It's a new world," Tierney said in an interview this week with The Associated Press in his Capitol Hill office. "Now that we have some seniority, we have some activity going and we're able to shape some of these bills. This is a great place to be."

Tierney's new visibility isn't lost on his Bay State colleagues, who, like Tierney, are savoring life in the majority. "He's emerging," said Rep. William Delahunt, D-Mass. "We have the votes, and that makes all the difference. You can do more."

Tierney's new profile probably has more to do with boosting his political stock in the House than with any ambitions for statewide office, said Peter Ubertaccio, a political science professor at Stonehill College in Easton, Mass.

"He's got ambitions in the House," Ubertaccio said. "He's someone who does a lot of work behind the scenes, is well-respected and has been slowly moving up the leadership ladder. If you're doing the kind of work behind the scenes that makes you attractive to your House colleagues, you've got a pretty bright future there."

Tierney, who was a Salem attorney before winning his seat in 1996, enjoys strong ties to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that stretch back several years. Pelosi's daughter, Christine, was Tierney's chief of staff.

Tierney won a high-profile subcommittee chairmanship and enjoys some coveted committee assignments, including a slot on the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, which oversees the intelligence community for Congress. He also sits on his party's steering and policy committee, which helps set the Democratic agenda.

"He's taking a leadership role," said Rep. James McGovern, D-Mass. "He's no shrinking violet and he's in a position to be able to set the agenda on some of these issues now."

Tierney took over this year as chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee on national security and foreign affairs. The panel, which launched the Walter Reed hearings, is in the forefront as Democrats use their newfound power to step up scrutiny of Bush administration policies.

Such oversight is a stark departure for Democrats who struggled to get things done during years of Republican rule, Tierney said.

"Now you're working just as hard, obviously, but you're a little more out front because you're taking the lead and it's our agenda, and it gets the attention," he said.

Meanwhile, Meehan's departure to become chancellor of the University of Massachusetts at Lowell in July is likely to create openings for Tierney and other delegation members on issues such as campaign finance reform that Meehan championed.

Tierney recently joined Sens. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Arlen Specter. R-Pa., to unveil legislation allowing candidates to get money from public funds instead of lobbyists and other special interests. It's an issue, along with education, jobs and reducing senior citizen prescription drug costs, that Tierney has worked on for years.

"We have no problem talking about campaign finance reform," he said. "I think our bill goes to the core of it a little bit, instead of trimming around the edges."

For now, Tierney said he's enjoying life in the House and has no burning desire to run for statewide office. "I'm not without ambition, but I don't go to sleep worrying about it," he said. "I don't go to sleep at night thinking what's available, what might be available. But I wouldn't want to say if something popped up that I wouldn't look at it or whatever. ... I like being in Congress, and I like especially being able to shape some of these issues."